From a 1676 map of Guåhan produced by Father Alonso, he depicted where the Jesuits strategically placed churches in populated villages of natives. Up in the northwestern part of the island pertinent to the villages of Mahgua [Mågua] and Finahaguoyig [Finahåguåyig], the Jesuits established the Church of San Francisco Xavier as part of their overall outreach and Catholic conversion of the natives.
Francisco Xavier/Javier was a popular name during the religious conversion and conquest period. It is also the baptismal name given to one of the first four children San Vitores baptized sometime in the afternoon of June 16, 1668, while aboard the “San Diego,” a patache he and his crew first arrived on in the Mariana Islands.
The following year in 1669, there was a sickly three-month-old child from Fu’una, Rota. Father Francisco Garcia described the infant as lying stiff as a board for six hours and was expected to die. After Father San Vitores baptized him and said his prayers, he took the infant into his hands, and just when the signs of life seemed to have disappeared, the child moved and his breath and color were restored. It was a testament of faith for the moment. Unfortunately, Francis Xavier lived for only ten days and died on December 10, 1669. San Vitores named him in honor of the Feast for Saint Francis Xavier, which occurred the day of his baptism on December 1, 1669.
References:
Francisco Garcia. 2004. The Life and Martyrdom of the Venerable Father Diego Luis de San Vitores , S.J . Translated by Margaret M. Higgins, Felicia Plaza and Juan M.H. Ledesma. Edited by James A. McDonough. MARC Monograph Series 3. Guam: University of Guam
Augusto V. de Viana. 2004b. In the Far Islands: the Role of Natives from the Philippines in the Conquest, Colonization and Repopulation of the Mariana Islands. University of Santo Tomas: Manila, Philippines.
